Former Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to headline conference

Hawai‘i is a national leader in clean energy initiatives and has become a global model for sustainability. To strengthen this foundation, the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (UH Sea Grant), UH Mānoa Chancellor Tom Apple, and U.S. Senator Brian Schatz have partnered to bring world-renowned experts from across the state and nation to the University of Hawai‘i for a day-long conference. These experts will address key underlying issues of sustainability, and engage directly with high school and college students who are poised to lead these efforts in the future.

On April 15, 2014, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, will join Mr. Geoffrey Anderson, President, Smart Growth America, Mr. Kyle Datta, Co-founder, Ulupono Initiative, Ms. Hermina Morita, Chair, Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission, Mr. Jeff Seabright, Vice President, Environment & Water Resources, The Coca Cola Company, and Mr. Nainoa Thompson, President, Polynesian Voyaging Society, among other visionaries at the conference. They will be partnering with state and local experts as well as Hawai‘i’s youth to examine risks and propose solutions to energy and water resource security, and the complexities of climate change.

The next day, April 16, Senator Schatz will be holding a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at the East-West Center at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa campus. The Senate’s energy field hearing will focus on meeting sustainability goals in Hawai‘i and the Pacific.

“As a national leader in clean energy development and sustainability, Hawai’i is the perfect place to hold this important summit of local experts and global leaders like Vice President Gore. By teaming together we can tap into new resources and move forward with solutions that are good for our state, the nation and the world,” said Senator Schatz, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Water and Power Subcommittee.

“We look forward to the positive outcomes this conference will generate with the collaboration of stellar and progressive minds. In no other place is the concept of sustainability more important than being located at least 2,500 miles from the nearest major land mass,” said UHM Chancellor Tom Apple. “We welcome the opportunity to be a part of this movement.”

“A future in which we create economic and social opportunities for all, advance an enriching quality of life, preserve cultural inheritance, and promote stewardship of our natural resources for future generations is within reach” said Professor Gordon Grau, UH Sea Grant director. “We are very fortunate to be partnering with Senator Schatz, who for many years worked at UH Sea Grant and has championed sustainability issues in Hawai‘i long before most people understood its importance. Through this conference we have an opportunity to bring the best and brightest minds together to focus on Hawai‘i and start to build our sustainable future.”

WHAT: Ascent: Developing a New Social Contract for Public Investment in a Green Future: a Conference on Hawai‘i’s Future

WHO: University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program; University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; U.S. Senator Brian Schatz; National and Local Experts on Sustainable Solutions; Invited conference participants only (Media coverage is invited and encouraged. Please RSVP for additional information)

Following the conference, at 7 p.m., there will be an evening seminar with Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. This free public lecture will be held at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tickets to Vice President Gore’s seminar are free and can be obtained at the Stan Sheriff Center Ticket Office or the UH Mānoa Campus Center Ticket, Information & ID Office.

The conference is being organized by the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program of the University’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, on behalf of the Chancellor of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa jointly with the office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz.